Department replacing 30,000 water meters in Kota Kinabalu
Published on: Tuesday, May 24, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
A contractor reinstalls the new meter for this house in Taman Putera Perdana, Telipok.
The Water Department is in the midst of replacing the meters for some of its 30,000 consumers around Kota Kinabalu as these devices may be providing inaccurate readings.A spokesman for the agency said notices had been sent to select home and business owners, as early as March, to inform them that their meters were going to be changed.
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“New meters have been put in place at about 80 per cent of these premises so far,” he said.
“The older meters have a life span of seven years. Wear and tear starts to take a toll on them once they exceed this period.”
Besides these devices, he said, the Department also planned to change its water tanks in some rural areas and urban centres like Kudat and State Capital.
“This work is being implemented under three separate packages as part of a Non-Revenue Water Project.”
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He explained that the project was being funded by the Federal Ministry of Environment and Water.
The water pumps servicing this part of Karamunsing were also found to be functioning as they should.
The spokesman was responding to a Telipok resident’s displeasure about the haphazard manner in which the new meter was installed while she was away at work.
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She said leaks sprang up in the section of the pipe immediately after the device, when she next turned on her taps.
The homeowner provided Hotline with her billing particulars, including her meter number. This information was forwarded to the agency.
The spokesman said the contractor, tasked with changing the meters around Kota Kinabalu, had attended to the pipe to ensure that water did not spurt out from the joints.
This was done on the same day that the Department was informed by the media about what had happened to the homeowner, according to him.
“Our personnel went to the area some time later to double check that there was nothing amiss with the supply channelled to the house in question.”
GAMEY, who lives in Taman Putera Jaya, was shocked to find that she was without a supply when she came home from work.
“I initially thought it was a water disruption until my husband went to check on the meter and found that water was escaping from the pipes leading into our compound,” she said.
She said the leaks looked as if “mini-sprinklers” had been fashioned in this part of the supply-line.
Gamey immediately informed the Department’s Careline about this irregularity.
“The personnel who took my call was reluctant to assist at first. He kept insisting that it was up to me to deal with the leaks as the damaged section was located after my meter.
Water Department staff check on the pressure of the supply reaching this Karamunsing house.
“He changed his tune after I pointed out that there was nothing wrong with my supply in the morning, before my meter was changed.
“I told him that a new one was installed at some point that day, when no one was home, and this was likely to have triggered my water woes.”
The telephonist told me someone would come to her house later that night to attend to the leaks. Despite this assurance, however, the staff failed to make good on his word, according to her.
“I couldn’t cook for my family that night and my children had to go to school the next day without taking a bath.”
Meanwhile, the agency will step up efforts to maintain its installations in the Karamunsing area, following feedback from a consumer about the irregular supply in her neighbourhood.
The spokesman said its staff had been instructed to check on the condition of the agency’s equipment, including the pumps, regularly.
He said this would ensure that the Department’s devices were functioning as they should.
The spokesman said the pumps occasionally had to be manually reactivated after an electricity disruption.
“Our pump operator has been asked to be more wary of any power outages and to be more prompt in switching on the device after the electricity is restored.
“We will monitor the progress of this work to try and prevent our consumers in the neighbourhood from being unnecessarily inconvenienced.”
The spokesman was responding to a Karamunsing resident’s displeasure about the low pressure of the tap water reaching her home on Jalan Sang Kancil.
He said the Department’s staff checked on the condition of the distribution line leading to the premises, shortly after learning about these problems.
“They cleared any air locks inside the transmission pipes before the respective meters and double-checked on the pressure of the water inside. At the time, they found the pressure at both locations to be acceptable.”
JOANIE of Karamunsing said tap water was only available for a limited period in the wee hours and that this had been going on “for months”.
She bemoaned the inconvenience of carrying out chores around the house, let alone taking a bath, because of these supply woes.
“Neither the water heater nor washing machine will operate because there is insufficient water coming from the taps,” she said.
Despite having repeatedly brought these problems to the Department’s attention, she said the situation had yet to improve.
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